1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of safety devices for handguns, and more particularly, to devices for the prevention of accidental discharge of handguns.
2. Art Background
The unintentional discharge of a handgun has been a source of needless injury for many years. Children playing with guns found in a parent's belongings have been injured or killed at an alarming rate due to accidental firings. Numerous attempts have been made to "neuter" or otherwise render a firearm inoperative in order to prevent accidental firings. In most cases, attempts to prevent accidental discharge require that the firearm be rendered inoperable or maintained in an unloaded condition. Accordingly, any attempt to use the firearm for protection requires the user to reassemble or load the gun under possibly adverse conditions.
As will be described, the present invention provides a safety lock device having particular application for use with handguns, which effectively prevents non-intended users, such as children, from operating the firearm. Although children are prevented from discharging the weapon, an adult may quickly disengage the present invention from the handgun and operate the firearm as intended. As will be appreciated, although the present invention is designed primarily for use with revolvers, its teachings may be applied to semiautomatic or automatic pistols as well as other firearms.